Friday, February 29, 2008

The Project has been temporarily suspended due to Operation Figure My Life Out. For reals, I've been a crazy and totally unfun person to be around the last week. Not having a plan is like kryptonite for this uber-organized lady. Where am I going? What am I doing? Where to I want to be? How am I going to get there? Who am I? Wha?!

So, there has been no cooking. No Knotting (gasp!). No Blogging. No Blog reading. No TV watching even! I was real good for three days and I made progress. I have some answers and the path is starting to form right in front of my eyes.

So I let myself one blog today. I was missing my daily fashionista view and I thought... one little blog. Can't hurt. Could even be inspiring to my life in general. Opps. The flood gates.

But I can't stay. Must.Be.Better.

In other news, I let myself visit ebay.

If these didn't have two straps we would be getting hitched in 2 days, 16 hours. But since we've got a double strap situation, we might only be eloping. Maybe. I heart you Manolo.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Thank you for your email this morning. I adore that you think of me each day with bits of beauty right in my inbox. You are so good at coming up with pieces that you think I might like. The bracelet you sent this morning is amazing. I'm thinking early birthday present for myself :-)

My office loves all things sugar. Cake. Pie. Cookies. Cupcakes. Brownies. We have one of these on regular rotation in the copy room. Problem is, we all got fat. So we cut back. But now it's Birthday Season. We have at least one a week and everyone deserves cake!

I was in charge of yesterday's birthday and decided to switch it up. Was going to attempt the Smitten Kitchen's Pear & Almond Tart, but got scared of all the steps and the immense time commitment required of the crust. So, I found a frozen crust from Ralphs (that crap was awesome and I got more compliments on the crust than anything else) and a recipe for Pear Pie. I'd never even heard of Pear Pie, but I had all the ingredients and it was so super easy.

And DELISH! You can taste just a hint of the ginger. It's not overly sweet and was just perfect. The top collapsed from a nice structured top into a mess over the pear, but I actually thought it looked kind of neat. This one's going in the arsenal of baked goodness.

The Little Black Apron is the best thing that ever happened to be in the kitchen. The recipes are easy. The food is delicious. I look like I know what I'm doing!

The Saltimboca-Style Pork Tenderloin with Prosciutto and Sage might be the ugliest dish in the world. But perhaps one of the tastiest. And I'm not even a huge pork fan. The sauce was delish, I just hated that it spread to the asparagus. I hate it when my sauces marry. The asparagus was also super easy and totally yummy. I'd never thought to put olives on top of asparagus, but the flavor combination was awesome. As is anything with olives. Love me some olives.

I also made Baked Stuffed Peaches for dessert that were fantastic, but we ate them before I remembered to take a picture of them. There were warm and tender and not so many calories, which makes the gym part of this project so much easier!

I can't take all of the credit for the Grilled Flank Steak with Sweet Chili and Soy. As soon as the marinade was done for the steak I had to run out to deal with some HOA shiza (is it time to buy a house yet?) Chris said he threw it on the grill and then flipped it. When it was done, he took it off the grill. Sounds easy enough. Chris also took care of the Sauteed Zucchini Ribbons. He peeled the zucchini with a peeler and then sauteed them. They look so pretty and tasted so yummy. Top with some almonds and you look like a fancy chef (but really you threw some crap together out of the pantry).

There was also dessert that I forgot to take a picture of. Baked Bananas with Nutella and Graham Cracker. I'm in a dessert bubble.... I don't really think outside of cookies, cake, pie, brownie, etc. Baked Banana is awesome, easy and seems so fancy. And yet, I cut open a banana, stuffed in some Nutella, wrapped it in foil and stuffed it in the oven. When it was done, I scooped out the yumminess inside with a graham cracker. Yummy.

If cooking is this easy, I'm all for it. But it gets tiring. Last night we ate frozen pizza from TJ's. Good for me it tastes so freakin' good. Why go to all the effort of making your own if the boxed one tastes so delectable?

Monday, February 25, 2008

Brights Brights Everywhere! The drab beige and white is gone. Everything is so bright and festive and springy. I'm so excited :-)

I'm not a traditionally bright clothes wearer. Not that I'm afraid of the colors, I just tend to pick, well, in all honesty, boring colors. I'm sad to look in my closet and see all the blahness.

So, I bought these shorts. And obviously, I needed a new shirt to go along with the fabulousness that is these shorts.

Banana Republic was the obvious choice. I heart their sale rack like nothing else. (I hate to buy retail, it's ridiculous to me. It's going to go on sale in a few weeks, why not stick it out?! Hence, the delay in buying the above shorts.) End Rant.

I bought this lovely yellow number. Simple. Bright. Soft & Comfy.

(Please excuse the puffiness of my face. There were lots of cookies, cupcakes, pies & desserts this weekend. Will be hitting the gym with mad force this week. A double header today even!)

Would have worn the shorts to work if I knew I could swing it (or it wasn't 12 degrees). I'd probably be sent home for something so ridiculous. I was stuck on what to wear with the uberbrightness of the top. Black? No, couldn't look like the Demon. Brown? Ick. Beige? Blah. And then I remembered an Inspiration Board from a wedding that I'd seen somewhere at some point during my planning. Grey! I love it.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

I was SOOOO looking forward to this lunch on Saturday. Meeting the ladies I chat with online in real life! What are they going to look like sans wedding day makeup? Would I recognize them? Are they going to be the same without the veil of the internet? Would we have strong personalities?

They were perfect! I so enjoyed hanging out with such an amazing group of women tied together by our love of all things wedding. Add to that some sweet potato fries, a few (or more) mojitos and an immense amount of sugary sweets, and it was the best luncheon I've ever attended.

Janice - you did such an amazing job getting this shindig together. Thank You!

Thursday, February 21, 2008

I'd love to be able to workout because I know it's good for me. Before the wedding I was SUPER motivated. I rocked it out at the gym. I was so super in shape.

Then there was the wedding. There was lots of drinking and ridiculousness.

Then there was the honeymoon. And the fried food and relaxing and hanging out.

I've GOT. TO. GET.BACK.IN.THE.HABIT.

So, new motivation. Another photo shoot with Crissy Farah! It's going to be a fantastic time in a desert. I get to wear my dress. Chris gets to meet Crissy. I get to wear my dress. And let's be serious, it's all about the dress.

Most of the Jordana Project is tweaking. And perfecting. Except for the cooking. I'm a disaster area in the kitchen. A mess. Chris did not marry me for my skills. He married me in spite of them.

But I really really want to learn!

Chris can walk into the kitchen, pull some crap out of the pantry, throw it in a pot and make something fabulous. I have to have a recipe and go to the grocery store and check things off and follow the recipe to a t. If I don't, there's a possibility of an inedible cluster.

So I subscribed to some blogs. Smitten Kitchen is fantastic. I feel like her recipes are doable for a 'tard like me. She takes photos of her work that are even better than the food!

I also bought a book! (this kid needs all the inspiration she can get!) I read about it in Los Angeles Magazine and decided that it would be easier to double a single girls' recipe than eigth a family one. It's super cute (and pink!) It's dumbed down to the point that it's slightly annoying, but often necessary. Tomorrow is my first attempt in the kitchen. Saltimboca Pork with Prosciutto. Or something like that. It might be a nice change from my standard diet of grapefruit and english muffin while Chris is on the road.

Breakfast at Tiffany's is one of those movies that I've always wanted to see, but never really gotten around to. It's the sorority girl cult classic. I don't think there was a room in my sorority house that didn't have at least one photo of Ms. Hepburn. It was totally different that I expected. I'm not sure what exactly I expected, because I knew nothing of the plot. Just this iconic photo.

Holly Golighty was a freakin' disaster area. A furnitureless apartment. A cat with no name. A few dresses. But a few amazing dress. Her fashion sense was impeccable. So clean and simple, but over the top and ridiculous. I adore the fact that she, and well, most women in the 1950's, knew how to dress. Even in jeans they were stunning. The gloves. The pearls. The jackets. The hats. Makes me wish I was born forty years earlier.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

I love this look. But why? There's nothing really special about it. She looks kind of like she rolled out of bed and picked up some crap off the floor. No?

What is about it this particular combination of hat, scarve, hoodie, t, jeans, bag that just click? Perhaps the giant purple bag when it could have been a simple tote? Maybe it's the cutesy little hat when she could have gone with a baseball hat? That definitely would not have been as cute.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Finding, and mastering, a hobby is part of the Jordana Project. I want to have a skill just for fun. Something that is useful. I've always loved photography, but I was a point & shoot kind of girl. Nothing too fancy. Nothing too difficult.

Last year, Chris convinced me that we needed the Nikon D50 and it's been one of the best things to ever happen to me. Our everyday pictures are so much better.

But then there was the engagement shoot. And the boudoir shoot. And the wedding shoot. And suddenly my good pictures look blah.

I want to be better. I've got the eye, but I want to know what all of those buttons on the body of my beautiful camera can actually do. So, I'm going to buy a book and I'm going to get better.

Although, sometimes, I just hit it.

I love this shot. Played with the color a bit in Photoshop, but I adore the juxtaposition of a person standing in traffic. This was one of our first shots in Bangkok, driving from the airport into the city. The traffic there is like nothing I've ever seen before. And I though LA was bad.

Part of the Jordana Project is getting my wardrobe back together. When one is paying for a wedding, fun little things like clothes and accessories take a far backseat. It's been a long time. But I am back.

I need to get my wardrobe back on track. I've been wearing the same crap for far too long.

Today I hit Colorado Blvd in Pasadena for my favorites. Banana. JCrew. H&M. Ohhh and it was good. I may be a bit out of the game though, there was lots to inspire, but I actually bought very little. I've gotten amazingly good at window shopping. Whoa, who'dya thunk I'd ever say that?

I wanted a great light jacket for dressier times. I've been lurking on a fashion blog recently that I adore. She mixes Forever21 with Marc and Chanel is a silky smooth manner. She inspired me to go check out the cost effective Forever and I found the perfect one jacket. That place has gotten awesome. The details and the colors and the selection. Wow!

It's an eggplant color. Very rich without being purpley. I love the neck. I love the sleeves. I love the buttons. I feel super svelte. (Please excuse my general face. This girl was lucky to get up off the couch for the first time that was non-work related this week.)

My biggest plan for wardrobe in the Project is accesorizing. I don't do it. I don't really remember to do it. And mostly, I don't have the goods to go about it.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

I just finished this fabulous book. I want to cook more, so it seemed like a good option. It's about a woman who hates her life and wants to give it more purpose. So she decides to cook every single recipe in Julia Childs' Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a single year. She blogs about it as she goes and apparently becomes "famous" for it. The book takes from her blogs and documents the year. It's hilariously wonderful.

At one point she's talking about a London diarist from the 17th century:

"What I think is that Sam Pepys wrote down all the details of his life for nine years because the very act of writing them down made them important, or at least singular."

I love that the simple act of writing something can make it important. Getting it out of your head onto paper/screen for someone else to see. Blogging is the same. I couldn't quite put my finger on why I liked it so much. I think it's because of this. Making the everday blah blah blah important. At least note worthy. I like it.

She knows how to cook. Well. She has supplies on hand to make great meals, desserts and snacks. The cabinets and pantry display tons of options for fantastic foods. She's prepared. And she doesn't need a recipe.

She's clean, while not being maticulous. (Perhaps she hires someone to do the actual cleaning) Her home looks lived in, but put away at the same time. It's cozy and comfortable and perfect for entertaining.

She loves her job and her career is bright and shiny. She can be creative and think way outside the box.

She's in wonderful shape. The gym is not so much a chore as it is part of the daily routine. And not because there's an event to be svelte for, but because it's good for your body and soul.

She remembers birthdays in enough time to mail a well thought gift with Martha Stewart worthy wrapping alongside the perfect card.

She's crafty in the kitchen, the office and the bedroom.

She values friendships and remembers that phone calls are the perfect way to keep in touch with old friends. She realizes that just because someone was important in the past, doesn't mean they can't also be important in the future.

She takes advantage of the city she's living in. She tries new resturants instead of falling back on the tried and true because the Cuban Sandwich is so.damn.good. She goes to new places. Tries new things. She spends Sundays driving to a new area of the city to just, drive.

She goes on more vacations, because, seriously, if you don't do it now, you're not going to be able to do it for a long time. She sees new places, but makes it home at some point throughout the year for some slow Southern time.

She has a hobby that she loves. And maybe, she's really good at it.

She shops more often. She loves fashion and should spend more time learning about it. Then putting that knowledge to pracitcal use. She accessorizes.

She has a husband that she adores and adores her back. They choose everyday to be more in love than they were a day before. They grow together. Some people call this "work", but for them, it's nothing of the sort. They remember the way they felt on their honeymoon and strive for that everyday.

She relies a bit more on other people. She doesn't have to do it all on her own. But in the technical arena, she takes on more for herself. She knows how to handle it when the car makes a noise or the computer screen goes black.

She is open to criticism. Realizing that she is a work in progress and that we all need all the help we can get.

And it's back to real life. But going "back" doesn't really seem doable as we're (a) new married people and (b) we, well, at least I, am a person that has pretty much ignored myself for the last fifteen months as I headed down the all consuming road to wedding perfection. It was fabulous and I loved every ounce of energy, ever tear drop and every bead of sweat that went into that fabulous day.

But now it's real life. And I begin to think about what I want this real life to be. As long as we're starting fresh I can be whatever I want to be! I've always had this idea of who I want to be, this idea floating around in the back of my head. There never seems to be enough time to be that person.

But I am a project person. I always have to have a project. In college there were endless projects for classes, for sororities, for simple ridiculousness. Then it was the Graduation Project. Get a job. Find an apartment. Buy a car. Become a "Real Person". And when I got that under control it was the "Real Estate Project". Condo shopping. Bidding. Winning. Not unlike Shopping Victoriously, but with a whole hella of a lot of paperwork. Then it was the "Wedding Project". Fifteen months later I'm left with no impending project.

So, I'm pleased to announce the "Jordana Project". I'm going to take the time to be the person I want to be. That person that's been an idea floating in the back of my head. I'm going to get her down on paper and then out in public.

I love my husband, but I really kind of love it when he travels too. I get to have girly time :-)

MP invited me to see a drag show, the Kinsey Sicks, at the Pacific Design Center. It was hilarious! Nothing like a man, wearing a dress and giant bow, on a chair, singing about her beaver hair.

We decided to continue the girly evening with drinks at the Beverly Hills Hotel. This is one of my goals for 2008... taking advantage of Los Angeles. I've been feeling lately that I could be living in any city in the US. Work. Gym. Home. Target. Grocery store. Repeat. How boring is that!? But the Beverly Hills Hotel, you can only have one of those! And we got to hang out with Owen Wilson. And by "hang out", I obviously mean, pass by him in the lobby.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

I left my morning empty for "Just In Case" disaster fix-it time. It was needed to get something to adorn the back of my head. Mom fell through. A friend fell through. I couldn't be naked in the back! Erica Koessler came in good. I would love to say "Came in BIG", but good is enough. The sales lady was quite rude and unaccomodating to Chris and I (yes, I drug Chris along with me. It ended up being good. Hold on.) Rude until Chris mentioned how much I LOVE The Knot. I found it odd that she perked right up and was the most helpful person ever after that. I hate when people do that. Not so nice until you can do something for them. Bastards.

Anywho, we were EXHAUSTED at this point. We sat in the car in the parking lot for a good 5 minutes after the hair comb purchase and just. sat. It was perfection. I decided we needed some US time. There were so many people in town, all pulling us in so many directions. And it ws so fabulous to see everyone and be with everyone... but we needed some alone time. The cell phones were turned off and we hit EAT, a new little breakfast/lunch cafe in NoHo. It was the most perfect thing we had done all week. No ringing phones. No questions. No people. Just us, reflecting on what was going to happen tomorrow!

Then it was back to the fans. Kristin, Mary and I hit 25 Degrees for fabulous burgers and fries (well, they had burgers, I stole some fries). That place is always excellent. So I'm noshing and I look up to the bar and it's Justin Chambers! How adorable is he!? I love seeing celebs when I'm with people who don't live in LA. They totally think that living here is so much more fabulous than it really is :-)

Kristin, Mary and I had a dance class at Millenium in NoHo. They are both hip hop dancers, and then there's me. I was the icky white girl dancer in the back of the room who was kicking left when the other girls were humping right. (I'm sure there are all kinds of terms for what they were doing, but I don't know them.) I am a much better dance observer than dance doer. But the big news was that Lauren from So You Think You Can Dance was there! I freakin' love that show. I stared at her a lot. It was wrong of me.

Rehearsal time. All went smoothly. I think that everyone was quite impressed with Jill & Stephanie of Style & Grace. They're so wonderful. My wedding day fairy godmothers. They made sure that everyone knew what was up. My favorite part was taht they were sure to mention many times that their phone number was on the information sheet and that they should by no means call Chris or I on wedding day. It didn't work. But, it was super sweet of them to try!

And then the Serious-Time-Wedding-Talks started. First up was Tom, Chris' youth pastor and the man that would marry us. His advice came in four parts.

1. There is no D-Word

2. Laugh. Hard. Often.

3. Jordana is always right.

4. Jordana is always right.

I love that man!

Our Rehearsal Dinner was more of a cocktail party at Lucky Strike, just across the street from the Roosevelt. Lots of drinks. Cutesy tiny little food (that is scrumptious!). And seeing so many people for the first time! Almost everyone was in town now and they were all there. A rehearsal dinner of 50 people. It was perfection.

We hired Jonilyn after many superb recommendations from The Knot. She was fabulous and at a fabulous price. We asked her to set up a photo booth, an idea stolen from Knottie Shananah. She blogged about us the next day! (here) The show is absolutely fabulous and makes me giggle every time I see it. If you want to watch, let the whole thing load, then watch. It's big, so it starts and stops and is annoying because you're so excited to see it all. Right. Now.

The Candy Bars were a HUGE hit.

The Cake was a huge hit!

It was a fabulous night! Top it off with a tasty trip to Mel's Diner with 20 of our closest friends and we called it a night. An exhausted and sleepy night. And in bed before midnight. Hey, tomorrow is a big day :-)

I love to shop. For anything really. Even groceries. And office supplies. There's something about picking out the perfect super cool Post It notes that gets me excited. No icky yellow standard ones for this girl.

But, when Chris and I took over wedding finances last May all shopping came to a complete halt. Cold Turkey. If it wasn't wedding related or vital to our surivival we didn't buy it.

But now the wedding is over ::insert evil laugh here::

It's Chris' fault really. He wants to take his dress up a level. No more t-shirts for this husband of mine (THANK GOD!). We hit Macy's on Saturday and Chris discovered the beauty that is English Laundry (is that what it's called?). The details are to die for. The buttons, the lining, the stiching. I'm so happy for Chris!

I was so good. Didn't buy a single thing. Mostly because the Sherman Oaks mall closes at 7:00 pm. That's the most ridiculous closing time for a mall I've ever heard.

But then he wanted to go to Nordstrom Rack. We'd never been, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. I had taken the day off yesterday because I have to work on Saturday. And Chris' flight to Milwaukee was cancelled (yeah!) due to snow. So we were given a free day by the universe. Chris bought nothing. I accidently shelled out $200.

But I picked up an Elie Tahari dress that I want to move into. Forget other clothes. I could live in this thing for the rest of my life.

Originally $398, I snapped it off the rack for $99.50. It's much snugger and sleeker on me and I don't think I'll rock the belt because it looks funny. The sleeves are my favorite part!

Also, last night, I accidently typed in "ebay.com" and "manolo blahnik 36". There are Manolos going for under $200!!!

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Thursday night continued on long after the boys arrived at the Roosevelt. It was party time up on the eleventh floor! Then some other folks arrived. Lots of folks. All of these people that we loved from all over the country flew in to be with us! Wow.

And the girls bought Sprinkles. I was so super impressed with them.

They bought other foods too... lots of wonderful foods. But the cupcakes were obviously my most favorite.

So with all these non-LA folks, we had to let them leave the Roosevelt for a true Hollywood evening. Sky Bar! It wasn't too busy and we took over the pool area. It was a fabulous evening with such fabulous people. Looking at these photos I'm super sad that it's all over. Sad that this event was more than likely the only time I will ever have all of these people in one room at the same time.

Does Kristin have the drunk face?!

One of the most exciting things about getting all of these people together is that they finally get to meet each other! Kristin and I went to college together, but she never met my sister. Now, they're friends and take pictures together!

Chris has this thing with his college pals. It's of quite the sexual nature. What? Flowe is getting married to Angela (the onlooker) in May in Dallas. I've never been to Texas and am so excited!

We used our new china for the first time on Saturday night. I love new stuff. It's so shiny you can see the reflection of the french fry!

After a night out for drinks with Stephen. 24 hours back in America and I was craving an all American meal. A burger and fries. YUMMY. I was craving Burger King, but all that was offered at 5 pm Thai Time was In-N-Out. It's not my favorite, but it'll do.

Chris needed a South of the Border meal. So we also stopped at Taco Bell for him. And Stephen... how does that man stay so thin!?

About Me

I'm a project person. Goals are my crack. With my last one, Project Wedding, over and done with I needed a new one. Me. See, I get lost in my projects. They take over my life. I don't cook. I don't clean. And with this last one, I didn't even shop (weddings are expensive.) So, it's me time. Time to focus on the person that I've always wanted to be. The person that's been floating around in the back of my mind. It's time to get her out of my mind, onto paper and out in the real world.